The Current Affairs Committee is responsible for exploring the role of local and regional authorities in contributing to the Council of Europe’s core values with regard to the major challenges of society. It fulfils this function by working on thematic issues such as social cohesion, civil participation, including youth participation, integration of migrants, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, sustainable development, or selected anti-discrimination and human rights issues at local and regional levels. . Recently, new challenges have surfaced to which the Congress has reacted - in particular through its Current Affairs Committee - by elaborating guidance for coherent and effective policies for preventing radicalisation, for managing migration flows and for improving integration policies.

In the framework of its mandate, the Current Affairs Committee prepares reports, including resolutions and/or recommendations presented for adoption during the Congress sessions. It organises debates on topical challenges and developments and urgent situations and crises affecting local and regional authorities of Council of Europe member states, with a view to recommending concrete responses.

It may also propose activities to the Bureau for advancing local and regional democracy, in accordance with the priorities set by the Congress, and organise conferences, hearings and other events on matters related to its terms of reference and work programme.  Furthermore, it prepares Congress contributions to other Council of Europe activities that come within its competence.

In addition, related to its focus topics, the Committee regularly follows the activities of and maintains working relations with other relevant Council of Europe bodies, in particular subsidiary bodies of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.